Inside Government
Back to homepageCaltrans director about to be quietly reconfirmed
April 2, 2013 By Katy Grimes Caltrans is an agency in trouble. The most recent buffoonery involves putting California motorists at risk, with the 30 broken bolts discovered on the newly renovated San Francisco Bay Bridge. And apparently Caltrans knew
Read MoreSteve Maviglio, pension sage: Why it’s a laughable spectacle
April 2, 2013 By Chris Reed Steve Maviglio, a leading consigliere to top Sacramento Democrats for more than a decade, now regularly pretends to a new role. Even though he’s on Speaker John Perez’s payroll, Maviglio offers himself up on
Read MoreWhy CA is so screwed up, in a nutshell
March 31, 2013 By Chris Reed So CalPERS’ actuary, in a fit of unusual honesty, says the pension giant’s finances are in bad shape in the long run and need to be firmed up. But Alan Milligan realizes that asking
Read MoreDid Gov. Brown really cut staff costs?
March 31, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Gov. Jerry Brown has received a lot of media attention lately with his news release that he cut his personal staff budget by about 50 percent compared to his predecessor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In
Read MoreWhy is state gov so inefficient? Duh. Job preservation.
March 30, 2013 By Chris Reed The Sacramento Bee’s Jon Ortiz had a piece Thursday about the grotesque mess that is California state government that had lots of interesting details about the extent of the dysfunction: “Last year, Gov. Jerry
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How will the Cyprus crisis impact the U.S.?
March 28, 2013 By Katy Grimes Is America headed for a Cyprus-like crash? These are the headline stories today from the Drudge Report: ‘THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR MONEY’… Cyprus banks reopen, with strict restrictions… €300 daily withdrawal limit… No money
Read MoreLAO: CalSTRS massively underfunded
March 26, 2013 By Katy Grimes SACRAMENTO — The state’s Legislative Analyst released another stinging report last week showing the California State Teachers’ Retirement System suffers $73 billion of unfunded pension debt. But CalSTRS is using doubtful figures to minimize the
Read MoreAttack of the artificial crises
March 25, 2013 By Steven Greenhut SACRAMENTO — Not many of my friends or neighbors are sitting on pins and needles, worrying that the world as we know it will end as the federal government “slashes” spending as part of the
Read MoreEven L.A. Times hints sequester cuts are theater
March 24, 2013 By Chris Reed The Federal Aviation Administration’s announcement that 11 air control towers in California will shut down on Sunday, April 7, because of sequestration cuts to the federal budget is offered up by the administration as
Read MoreThe radical roots of Jerry Brown’s school finance reform plan
March 22, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi California Gov. Jerry Brown’s recently proposed radical public school financing reform –- the so-called “Local Control Funding Formula” –- reflects the Catholic Jesuit social doctrine of 1968 called “the preferential option for the poor.”
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